Assessment of antiproliferative and toxic effects of a peptide from Momordica dioica using in vitro and in vivo studies

Inflammation occurs during a cascade reaction to cause damage to the tissues. Increased oxidant and cytokine expression were observed in the damaged tissues. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may be a chronic and lethal disease of inflammation in gastro enteric tissue characterized by intestinal inflammation. The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of the peptide from Momordica dioica in treating ulcerative colitis. The isolated protein was digested with trypsin enzyme and the hydrolyzed peptide were analyzed using LCMS where the peak obtained at 678.67Da at 17mins and MALDI-TOF analysis which showed similar peaks at 3388.7Da. The results from the MTT assay showed the IC50 value of the peptide at 100µg/mL. Similarly, the acridine orange staining showed decreased green-fluorescent nuclei cells than red fluorescent acidic vesicular organelles indicating autophagy-dependent cell death. The peptide displayed a cell viability effect on Colo-205 cells at 100 μg/mL when compared to the control. In the acute toxicity test, the mice were orally receiving peptide at a dose of 50-250 mg/kg BW for 14 days. The significant adverse effects were evident at a dose of 250mg/kg BW indicating that the LD50 value is lesser than 250 mg/kg. Based on the results obtained from this study, the peptide with a molecular mass of 3388.7Da exhibited an increased rate of cytotoxicity and autophagy induction in cancer cells at the concentration of 100 μg/mL. Therefore, the peptide can be further used for the formulation of anticancer drug for treating ulcerative colitis conditions.